name, but you can help change that. >> you had me at baby panda. voting is now open online. the options are miracle, gum drop, big ocean, or big sea, little gift, brave son, or water dragon. voting ends tuesday, and this is video of the 12-week-old cub exam yesrday. he is healthy and growing. right now 7 pounds, 7 ounces. the soon to be named cub is the sixth giant panda born at the san diego zoo. get online and vote on the news 4 facebook page for a link to the website. i want to take him home with me. >> i'm thinking gum drop might make the most sense of thoese options. >> i like water dragon. >> a few years from now it will just be gum wad, there will be a lot of him. >> oh, stop it.

with just 13 days before the election, president obama and mitt romney are making a final push for your vote, including several stops in our backyard. plus we have some breaking news on i-95 north in virginia this morning. good morning, everyone. i'm aaron gilchrist. >> and i'm eun yang. welcome to "news 4 today" for this wednesday, october 24th, 2012. we're going to take a live look outside at 5:01. 64 degrees. time for weather and traffic on the ones. meteorologist tom kierein feeling a little more like summer in the past few days. >> you know it's not going to last long. >> i'm enjoying it while it lasts. >> let's savor it while we can. big changes coming in for the weekend. right now increasing clouds coming in from the west. speckles of green on the storm team 4 radar image, clouds in west virginia and western maryland. a lot of them are not reaching the ground. elsewhere, we have increasing clouds throughout much of the area. temperatures are milder this morning. mid-50s in arlington, fairfax, montgomery, prince george's counties. d.c. now near 60.

right near the chesapeake bay, near 60 as well. and weather observers checking in west of washington around the shenandoah valley, into the blue ridge and the mountains, most of the locations into the 50s. not much of a chill in the air. still going to be chilly. then at noontime, just a slight chance of a sprinkle later this morning just west of us. then sun out this afternoon. that afternoon weather is not going to last long, a couple of hours. hovering around 80 midafternoon. i'm back in ten minutes with a hometown forecast, first 4 traffic with danella. good morning. >> good morning, tom. situation northbound i-95, all your lanes still blocked at centreport parkway due to a tractor-trailer accident. it may be best to take route 1 instead and take that to courthouse road and reconnect to i-95 and continue your trip northbound. let's head over to northbound route 4 in maryland, pennsylvania avenue.

you're going to see between the beltway and westphilia road, that left lane is blocked to a water main break in the area. and check the beltway in prince george's county, nice and clear. not seeing any road work or accident. in both directions, travel lanes are open. over to the rails, all are open, not seeing any delays. back to you. >> melissa mollet at the live desk with breaking news out of israel. crossings between gaza and israel now shut down following early morning fighting. taking a look at video. rockets and mortars from the gaza strip pummeled israel this morning. more than 40 rockets slammed into a neighborhood. nine people were hurt. the entire region is under alert with fears that more rockets could be launched. the israeli military said its aircraft and tanks struck gaza twice in retaliation. at least one person was killed. at the live desk, melissa mollet, news 4. right now mitt romney and president obama are gearing up

for another day of frenetic campaigning. they'll make stops in all four time zones today during this sprint to election day. today the president will make stops at quad cities in denver, colorado, and also to l.a. for "the tonight show." mitt romney will campaign in reno before heading to cedar rapids, iowa. he'll head to cincinnati, ohio, as he plans to campaign across the buckeye state tomorrow. both candidates kicked off this final stretch with their running mates. president obama kicked off in florida before meeting up with the vice president in ohio. mitt romney visited colorado and nevada with paul ryan. virginia is going to be a major focus for both campaigns in the final two weeks here. if there was any doubt about how important the commonwealth is, just the next four days should prove its weight in this election. the president, mitt romney, and both running mates will make a total of eight stops in that state over the next four days. this all gets started actually tomorrow in richmond.

that is where the president will hold it tomorrow. bird park, the doors will open around 9:00. richmond will also host mitt romney on sunday. it is the third stop of a three-city tour for the republican. he'll also visit hay market, virginia, in prince william county for a rally at battlefield high school. and then he'll wrap up the day at the farm bureau amphitheater in virginia beach. romney's running mate paul ryan going to be in virginia tomorrow. he'll have stops in bristol area while joe biden makes stops in virginia beach and lynchburg on saturday. tim kaine will spend part of day in our area. he'll visit the community center in fairfax. his republican opponent george allen was at the jcc on monday. both candidates are looking to succeed jim webb, who is not running for re-election. recent polls show the race is tied. the federal government is looking at problems at d.c.'s tax office. the securities and exchange

commission opened a formal inquiry and requested audits dating back to january of 2010. the d.c. council recently cited the tax office for a number of issues, including poor tax payment tracking and a lack of oversight. it also criticized chief financial officer natwar gandhi for not releasing audits documenting the problems. the council pass the emergency legislation to get the audits going to the s.e.c. the office is cooperating with the request. police are on alert after a string of sexual assaults. the latest assault happened on friday along gibson street in falls church. police say a man approached a woman walking a baby stroller, forcefully grabbed her, and then ran away when she screamed. five similar assaults happened in the springfield area. some call the attacks nerve-racking. >> it's very disturbing that you would have to worry about that on this street. >> it's incredible that something like this would happen in this community. i've never heard of anything.

i thought it was a pretty safe area. >> each attack happened in a residential area. if you have any information that could help in this case, you're asked to contact fairfax county police. a bizarre high speed chase through two states sent one woman to the hospital. police in virginia say they clocked 27-year-old angela cobbold going at least 90 miles an hour on interstate 66 yesterday morning. officers tried to stop her. she kept going to the naval support facility in bethesda. officers there say cobbold was chewing on a bar of soap while driving there. she and the security officer opened fire on each other. neither was hit. the chase eventually ended when cobbold crashed near a construction zone. police have not yet charged her with anything. right now the water is back on in kensington after a water main break there. crews spent the night on a six-inch line along greenwich street. the water main break caused the road to buckle, and that created

minor flooding. the cause is still under investigation, but it could be an old pipe that burst. just about 5:08 right now. the new look for minnie mouse that has some people talking. also ahead, the controversial comments that have another senate candidate on the defensive this morning. [ male announcer ] if barack obama is re-elected,

what will the next four years be like? one: the debt will grow from $16 trillion to $20 trillion. two: 20 million americans could lose their employer-based health care. three: taxes on the middle class will go up by $4,000. four: energy prices will continue to go up.

and five: $716 billion in medicare cuts that hurt current seniors. five reasons we can't afford four more years of barack obama. i'm mitt romney and i approve this message. imillion dollars for maryland one hundred schools.ty... question seven will double it. rushern baker: question seven will add table games and... a new casino, generating millions of dollars... every year, without raising taxes. leggett: and audits will ensure the money goes... where it's supposed to. more jobs, and millions for schools. baker: question seven will be good for our kids... our teachers, and our schools. leggett: keep maryland money in maryland. baker: please vote for question seven. leggett: vote for question seven.

if you're still wanting to fly this thanksgiving, get ready to pay more than you did for last year. travelocity reviewed flights between november 17th and the 27th and found the domestic round trip ticket will cost you $386, including taxes. that is nearly 9% more than the same period last year. travel experts blame the hike on fewer seats along with fluctuating fuel prices. >> getting hard to travel. it's too expensive. you have to drive everywhere. >> or walk. 5:11. time for weather and traffic on the ones. >> meteorologist tom kierein. what you got, buddy? >> good morning. right now clouds closing in from the west. might get a few passing sprinkles over the next couple of hours. riverdale, prince george's county by 7:00 a.m. mid-50s. hometown forecast by the noon hour with a little sun breaking out into the mid-70s.

hour by hour throughout the whole region. a lot of cloudiness through midday. then the sun back this afternoon. a touch of summer. near 80 midafternoon. i'm back with a look at the rest of the week and tropical storm sandy in ten minutes. still following breaking news i-95 northbound. all the northbound lanes are blocked. this is at centreport parkway, but the shoulder will get you by. you are seeing significant delays. here at 33 miles per hour as you approach the accident. let's head over and check out things along i-270. nice and clear. a live look at germantown south and northbound. travel lanes are open between germantown and the beltway. connecting to the beltway, no issues there. i-270 to i-95 nice and clear. the drive taking ten minutes. aaron and eun, back over to you. what did they know, and when did they know it? the new information we're getting following the deadly attack in libya. anncr: seven-hundred-thousand jobs.

that's what the plan george allen supports... would cost our economy. newspapers called it "economically destructive." like allen's votes to give tax breaks to companies... that ship jobs overseas, his economic plan would... help big corporations, devastating the middle class. allen even voted against tax breaks for small businesses. virginia can't afford to go back to george allen.

the democratic senatorial campaign committee... is responsible for the content of this advertising. prand you're seeing that rightno quit in amnow.a... over five million new jobs. exports up forty one percent. home values... rising. our auto industry... back. and our heroes are coming home. we're not there yet, but we've made real progress and the... last thing we should do is turn back now. here's my plan for the next four years: making education and training a national priority; building on our manufacturing boom; boosting american-made energy; reducing the deficits responsibly by cutting where... we can, and asking the wealthy to pay a little more. and ending the war in afghanistan, so we can... do some nation-building here at home. that's the right path. so read my plan, compare it to governor romney's... and decide which is better for you. it's an honor to be your president... and i'm asking for your vote... so together, we can keep moving america forward.

i'm barack obama and i approve this message. i'm melissa mollet at the live desk. five members of one family are dead after a syrian war plane struck a village in a rebel held town in the north. fighting there has killed 34,000 people since march of last year. at the live desk, melissa mollet, news 4. a high end department store is under fire for a new ad that makes minnie skinny. it's part of barney's holiday display launching next month. it includes a short film where minnie fantasizes she's in a paris show. but instead of the figure we're used to, she has a tiny, taller frame. minnie would not look so good in the designer dress. now more than 135,000 people

have signed a petition on change.org asking barney's to leave minnie alone. >> i think, if minnie is going to envision herself on the runway, she should envision herself. >> i think it's playful. you see it on the runways, and it's a fun, whimsical way of displaying fashion, and i like it. >> barney's said the ad was meant to be concept art and it was taken out of context. they point out in the storyline, when minnie wakes up from her dream, she is wearing the same dress on her traditional shape. an indiana senate candidate clear identifying comments he made about rape during a debate. >> i just -- i struggled with it myself for a long time, but i came to realize that life is a gift from god, and i think even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that it is something that god intended to happen. >> richard murdoch now says he meant to say that god doesn't

intend for rape to happen but god is the only one who can create life. democrats are furious over the comment. even mitt romney, who appears in a new ad supporting mordoch is distancing himself from the statement. an attack on the u.s. consulate in libya last month. it says the u.s. received information that an islamic group claimed responsibility just after the incident. the white house received e-mails just two hours after the deadly attack. president obama did not specifically blame any terrorist group close to three weeks after the incident. u.s. intelligence analysts say information was mixed following the attack that killed the u.s. ambassador to libya and three others. today a member of the kennedy family faces a parole hearing. michael ska kill, a nephew of ethel kennedy could be set free after spending 10 years behind bars.

skakel killed someone in 1985. if skakel is eligible for parole, he could go free as soon as april. jerry sandusky will soon take up residence in one of pennsylvania's state prisons. he was moved yesterday to a correctional institution for physical and mental evaluations before moving one more time to prison. the 68-year-old was sentenced earlier this month to between 30 and 60 years behind bars for sexually abusing multiple young boys. the former penn state football stapt coach is appealing that conviction. two teenage brothers are charged in connection with the death of a girl in clayton, new jersey. 12-year-old autumn pascale was last seen riding her bike. the suspects may have wanted the girl's bike. the brothers are ages 15 and 17.

millions of muslims are making their way to mecca for the annual haj pilgrimage. mecca is saudi arabia is the center of their faith. during the haj, muslims will set out on rites laid out by the prophet muhammad. investigators found unsanitary conditions inside the pharmacy linked to the deadly meningitis outbreak. that includes visible black specks of fungus in the steroids. 23 people have died, and more than 300 others nationwide have been infected. the governor of massachusetts is ordering surprise inspections of the state's 25 compounding pharmacies at least once a year to try to stop something like this from happening again. meantime, the number of suspected meningitis cases in virginia is rising. the virginia department of health says 41 cases have been reported, and that includes 3 cases of west virginia residents being treated at virginia hospitals. nearly 700 people received the

steroid shots made at that massachusetts pharmacy at outpatient medical centers in roanoke and cristiansburg. the clinics are still working to contact everyone who received that shot. hundreds of people in south western colorado have been evacuated due to a fast moving wildfire. this started yesterday at one house near pueblo and quickly spread. winds nearing 80 miles per hour helped fan the flames there. the fire already burned down some houses. deputies evacuated more than 300 homes as a precaution. lower winds today could help firefighters gain control of this fire. this morning hurricane warnings are out across jamaica ahead of a powerful storm. right now sandy is still a powerful storm but is expected to strengthen to a category 1 hurricane today. the tropical storm is already drenching parts of jamaica with steady rain. people there are boarding up homes and stocking up on supplies. the country shut down schools and offices. 5:21. let's get the latest from

meteorologist tom kierein. tom? >> we're watching sandy because it could affect us. no effects from that now. now here's the live view from hd 4 city camera. just clouds closing in. sandy is 150 miles south of jamaica now. the latest statistics, it has 70 mile an hour winds moving north at 17 miles an hour. it's going to be passing over jamaica with flooding rain and hurricane force winds. then taking a turn and missing south florida, off the florida coast, maybe west of bermuda. does look like maybe sunday afternoon. after that, it may track farther north and come near us on monday and tuesday next week. so stay tuned. getting a few sprinkles on storm team 4 radar coming into the west in loudoun county, montgomery county, and farther west. a little sprinkle activity in northern shenandoah valley and eastern west virginia. that may hold together. a little sun breaking out this afternoon. highs near 80 degrees.

a touch of summer in the air for a previous time, maybe an hour or two. after that, 60s this evening, bottoming out under a partly cloudy sky. mostly sunny on thursday. beautiful day tomorrow. highs reaching the mid-70s. then clouds close in on friday. there's a small chance of a sprinkle on friday. highs reaching near 70. might get a little sun back saturday morning and clouding up saturday afternoon near 70. saturday evening we could begin to feel some of the effects of sandy if it does track close enough to the atlantic seaboard. it looks like it's going to be lingering for a time near our atlantic sea board on sunday, monday, and tuesday. if that happens, we'll get lashed by wind, could get passing showers, and may be headed toward new england after that. i'm back in ten minutes. danella here with your first 4 traffic. good morning. >> good morning, tom. another update on the crash along i-95 northbound lanes at centreport parkway. good news is the right lane and center lane are going to get you

by the accident, but you are jammed. delays are about three miles. i wouldn't even take i-95 northbound in stafford right now. i would still take the alternate route of route 1 to courthouse road. let me show you live video of what the situation was earlier this morning when all your lanes were blocked. you can see only the right shoulder lane is getting by. that's why you see such a significant delay on northbound i-95 in stafford. again, that backup is three miles. route 1 is your alternate that i would recommend you taking right now. aaron, back over to you. >> thank you, danella. a blast from the past for redskins fans. the team just signed running back keylan williams. he had 39 receptions and 2 touchdowns in 15 games that year. williams replaces ryan grant, who the team cut earlier this week. a former nba employee says the league forced her out of a job because she had young children.

brin cohn is filing a $3 million gender discrimination lawsuit against the nba. the former senior accounting executive says the league created a hostile working environment for her and two other women because of children. she said her hours were changed when she was on pregnancy leave, and she had to work late into the evening for no good reason. the nba is not commenting on the lawsuit. parents who are stressed out are more likely to have obese children. that's according to the institute of philadelphia. parents under high stress are more likely to turn to fast food or convenience foods to feed their kids. well, today is my kind of day. it is food day. it was created by the center for science and the public interest to celebrate healthy foods. thousands of events will take place across the country to promote healthy options, sustainable agriculture, and animal welfare. there are dozens of events right here in the district as well.

go to foodday.org for more information. we'll post the link to our news 4 facebook page as well. >> foodday.org. >> healthy options, aaron. there's a school bus driver in oregon who's earned the respect of his students after he saved a high school student on his bus. last week michael deutsche was joking around with his friends in the back of the bus when he accidentally swallowed a plastic ice cube. his airway was completely blocked. you can see him on the right of the screen. he motioned for help, but at first other kids thought he was joking. >> no, that's something you don't joke about. it's not funny. like i had this blurriness, like i'm covering my eyes, like starting through my peripherals, and i can't see anything, but like a blank light. >> that's when the bus driver came to his aid and did the

heimlich maneuver, dislodging the plastic ice cube. he then lectured all the kids on why they should never eat or drink on the school bus. if you have a need for speed, you might want to head down to texas. >> a new toll road is set to open today that will let you put the pedal to the metal. the toll road has a speed limit of 85 miles per hour. supporters of the highway say it's safe as long as drivers follow the rules. those against it say the speed isn't safe no matter how careful the driver is. police say the speed limit doesn't worry them, but the highway runs through a rural area causing potential accidents with wildlife. when you're going that fast, can you see anything going by you? >> in south carolina, north carolina, and even parts of virginia the speed limit is a little higher because you're going through rural areas. i guess they figure less traffic might make it okay to go a little faster. >> 85, i'd be nervous. >> not that fast in virginia and the carolinas. 5:27 is our time. coming up, last chance to win over voters.

straight ahead, the message president obama and mitt romney are trying to get out.

just outside the beltway, down into the 50s. speckles of light green that are trying to reach the ground, loudoun, parts of montgomery counties and the northern shenandoah valley into parts of eastern west virginia. you might need an umbrella. it's generally trending that it's drying as it's heading east. didn't think we were going to get any sprinkles out of it. right now in the mid-50s in montgomery, prince george's, arlington, fairfax counties, and much of northern virginia. a few locations there have dipped down to near 50 from manassas down to culpeper, charlottesville, and parts of the shenandoah valley. mountains of west virginia, getting a few sprinkles trying to reach the ground. generally, low 50s there. near 60 in washington. hour by hour today, by 6:00 a.m., still maybe a few passing sprinkles around. and by later in the morning and through noontime, a lot of cloudiness and only a slight chance of a few sprinkles. the big story, though, is the warmup that we will likely have much of the region into the 70s

by noon. midafternoon, a little sun may break back out and near 80 degrees for a brief time. and, yeah, feeling more like late august than late october, at least briefly for an hour or two. i'm back in ten minutes with the hometown forecast. traffic trouble this morning. here's danella. >> tom, that's right. if you're traveling i-95 in stafford heading northbound, you're facing a three-mile backup because of the earlier crash. it is still blocking the left lane, but this is as you make your way past centreport parkway. left lane blocked. earlier this morning, all your lanes are blocked. your delays three miles if you're traveling northbound i-95. northbound 270 heading from frederick. at 109, it's sluggish from frederick as you head towards clarksburg road. from germantown connecting through gaithersburg, even through the rockville area, clear here. no major delays as you connect through the beltway. all travel lanes are open. if you're taking the rails, good

news here. no delays. aaron, back over to you. it's going to be a grueling day of campaigning for president obama and mitt romney. the president will make his way from the east coast to the west coast with stops in iowa, colorado, california, and nevada. mitt romney will start the day in nevada and end the day in ohio. tracie potts with more on the final push before election day. tracie, good morning. >> reporter: aaron, good morning. we're going to see this the next couple of weeks. they're trying to hit all the battleground states, especially as we get new poll numbers showing things even tighter. for the first time in a major poll, governor romney is leading by one percentage point. in the reuters/ipsos poll, the president leads by one percentage point. so essentially they are tied heading into the final days. the president intends to make stops in eight different states over three days. governor romney, in at least three states, four different stops over the next two days. he says the debates have super charged his campaign.

>> thank you, tracie. the presidential debates may be more riveting than any sporting event. more than 58 million viewers watched the debate, according to nielsen. that's three times more the number of people who watched monday night football and baseball's championship combined. nbc had the most viewers, 12.4 million. abc came in second with 11.7 million. cbs had 8.4 million viewers. fox did not carry the debate because it aired the nlcs. virginia is going to be candidate central over the next four days with the presidential hopefuls and their running mates making eight stops in the state during that time. the president kicks off the visit with a rally in richmond. then sunday the president will make three stops in richmond, haymarket, and virginia beach. paul ryan and vice president joe

biden will each make two stops in the commonwealth. the news 4 i-team heard from a voter who said he was missing a whole page of referendum questions. it included some of the most talked about ballot issues like question 6 on gay marriage and question 7 on gambling. the state board of elections confirms there are a small number of ballots missing pages in montgomery and prince george's county. if you haven't voted, you can call your local election board for a new ballot. head to nbcwashington.com and search "ballot" for more information. a prince george's county family is in disbelief after a teen avoided jail time for the killing of his 2-year-old foster sister. the boy will spend time at a therapeutic group home instead of a juvenile detention center after pleading guilty to involuntary manslaughter. the boy, who was 12 at the time, beat his foster sister aniyah bachelor to death back in july. the judge who sentenced him said he didn't understand the

severity of his actions. her foster grandmother says the punishment should have been more severe. >> how do you not understand right from wrong? i'm not looking for the death penalty. i don't believe in wrong for wrong, but i still think it should have been a little more stricter than what they gave him. >> the judge also ordered the boy be placed in a home with no one under the age of 18. a former university of virginia lacrosse player convicted in a high profile murder now serving his sentence in a rural part of southwestern virginia. george huguely was assigned to the keane mountain correctional center in oakwood, virginia. the 24-year-old was convicted in february in the beating death of yeardley love in 2010. the prison lists his release date as may of 2030. huguely's attorneys plan to appeal his conviction. a bizarre high speed chase but virginia and maryland ends with one woman in the hospital. police clocked 27-year-old angela cobbold going at least 90 miles an hour on interstate 66.

she didn't stop for officers and drove all the way to the naval support facility in bethesda. security officers there say she was chewing on a bar of soap while driving. there she and a security officer opened fire at each other. neither was hit. the chase eventually ended when cobbold crashed near a construction zone. letting them hit the snooze button. the push by some local parents to get their kids a little more sleep. president obama: i'm barack obama and i approve...

this message. anncr: victims. dependent. that's what mitt romney called forty-seven percent... of americans. including people on medicare. but what about his plan for you? romney would replace guaranteed benefits with a voucher system. seniors could pay six thousand dollars more a year. a plan aarp says would undermine medicare. you're no victim...you earned your benefits. don't let mitt romney take them away.

[monotone] she says, "switch to progressive and you could save hundreds." call or click today. pin pads on barnes and noble checkout counters could be the source of a security breach. the company says someone tampered with the devices at 63 stores in nine states. barnes and noble did not find hacking evidence at its d.c., maryland, and virginia stores. the store did disconnect all pin locations nationwide. they warned everyone to check for unauthorized transactions and check your pin number as a precaution. we'll take a live look outside over the nation's capital. if you were thinking maybe you might start packing away your summer gear, pull out some of the winter stuff, no, not yet. >> i know.

now you've got to dig out for short sleeves, possibly shorts today. tom, what's going on? >> by later this afternoon. but you might need an umbrella the next couple of showehours. a little area of passing sprinkles. great falls might have a few sprinkles this morning, and by the lunch hour, hometown forecast into the mid-70s. a little sun ought to begin to break out. for the whole region, it might reach near 80 degrees for a brief time. latest on tropical storm sandy and a look at the rest of the week and the weekend, big changes on the way. that's in ten minutes. how affe how's traffic, danella? still seeing about a three-mile backup on the 95 northbound. the crash is at centreport parkway, and it's blocking the left lane. as you were traveling i-95 earlier this morning, you had all of the lanes blocked, and just the shoulder lane was getting by. that's why you're seeing such a significant delay right now. the other thing to look out for

if you're traveling in virginia is i-66 heading eastbound. heavy on the brakes at the bypass. the good news is these delays right now go to centerville road, and over to the beltway nice and clear. 5:42. it is 64 degrees. a day of fun at the beach ends in tragedy for a surfer in california. teacher: this is west virginia, pennsylvania, delaware. and this is maryland. every year marylanders spend five hundred and fifty million gaming at casinos in these other states. question seven will build a new casino and bring table games to baltimore... generating hundreds of millions for schools. and that money has to go to education. it's the law.

so vote for question seven. so we can stop spending all that money here, and keep maryland money in classrooms like mine. we were told to build a 30-foot stage. gathered the guys and we built that 30-foot stage, not knowing what it was for. just days later, all three shifts were told to assemble in the warehouse. a group of people walked out on that stage and told us that the plant is now closed

and all of you are fired... i looked both ways, i looked at the crowd, and...we all just lost our jobs. we don't have an income. mitt romney made over 100 million dollars by shutting down our plant and devastated our lives. turns out that when we built that stage, it was like building my own coffin, and it just made me sick. [ male announcer ] priorities usa action is responsible for the content of this advertising.

i'm melissa mollet at the live desk. the syrian government and some rebel groups have agreed to a truce during the muslim holiday that begins this friday. this is according to the u.n. new information we're just getting. the u.n. security council, which is deeply divided on syria, would have to approve any peace keeping force. at the live desk, melissa mollet, news 4. 5:46 your time right now.

a shark attack killed a 39-year-old surfer off the southern california coast. the man was surfing in santa barbara when the shark bit him. a friend was able to drag him out of the water, but he died before paramedics got there. there were no shark warnings posted in the area, about you police say shark sightings are not rare. there's a new effort calling for a later start time for montgomery county high school. so far more than 5,000 people have signed mandy mader's online petition to push back the start time in high schools to 8:15 or later so students can get more sleep. county high schools now start at 7:25 a.m. sleeping in the classroom is a study nationally. critics say the logistics are just too hard to work out. >> one hour could make a huge difference in terms of their immune system, car crashes. attendance. >> then is becomes do we hire bus drivers, or do we hire teachers? where do you want to spend the money? >> mader says she plans to formally introduce the petition to the school board next month. we want to know what you think.

should schools have a later start time? let us know on our "news 4 today" facebook page. the university of virginia's accreditation is still at risk after an attempt to oust the school's president. the southern association of colleges and schools says there are still major questions about how and why teresa sullivan was fired back in june. she was reinstated later that month after public pressure. the school board of trustees says they followed proper procedures during the ouster. the board will decide what action to take at a meeting in december. a school board is erasing all votes by a former member who lived outside her district. "the washington post" discovered last week that rosalyn johnson had been living outside her district for four months. she moved to new carrollton to take care of her mother. the board evoteded ed tto erasf

her votes. two others are vying for her seat in november's election. some many campaign signs ar already coming down. road crews are removing hundreds of signs from medians and intersections on state road highways in maryland. many of the signs were placed there illegally. this has nothing to do with politics. the highway administration will also remove any illegal commercial signs. some of the signs are for or against the maryland d.r.e.a.m. act. hundreds of people passed this silver spring church to offer their support for the law, which would allow immigrants in maryland to pay instate tuition regardless of immigration status. marylanders will vote on the d.r.e.a.m. act next month. a recent poll found that 59% of maryland voters support the d.r.e.a.m. act. in ssome new dining options people working in the wilson boulevard. food trucks will be allowed to set up shop along 14th.

the director of the d.c. food truck association says, despite the timing, this is not a political issue, just a chance to serve people good food. 5:49. if you were planning to check out the costco in wheaton any time soon, you'll have to put the trip off until next year. during a recent earnings report obtained by "the washington post," the company's chief financial officers said the opening would be pushed back to march or april of next year. he said a construction issue caused the delay. the company did say the delay is not related to a fight over a gas station planned for the site. the station had to be moved due to complaints by residents that it was too close to a swim and enit is cl tennis club. right now the water is back on in kensington after a water main break. crews spent the night on a six-inch line. the break caused the road to buckle as well, and that caused

minor flooding. the cause is still under investigation, but it could be an old pipe that burst. >> the weather is cold, and we'll have more pipes bursting, but right now it feels like summer. weird weather. we're talking about summer-like temperatures in october and still tropical activity going on. that may affect us first part of next week. stay tuned. tropical storm sandy could be affecting us. i'll have the latest in just a second. right now let's take a look at storm team 4 radar. the color on your screen are a few sprinkles in west virginia. a few isolated sprinkles ahead of that. right now in loudoun county and montgomery county heading east. these may make their way. you might need an umbrella over the next hour or two. temperatures are milder. mid-50s arlington, fairfax, prince george's county. down to low 50s in shenandoah valley and into the mountains.

much of southern maryland and near the bay too near 60. here's the latest on tropical storm sandy. it's about 150 miles south of jamaica. looks like it's going to be crossing jamaica later today. may become a hurricane before then with drenching winds and hurricane force winds. then looks like the latest indications are with the track may take it with 70, 80 mile an hour winds over cuba and then break down to a tropical storm again, passing eastern florida during the day on friday. by sunday and perhaps early monday, west to bermuda. after that, it may take a turn north and come right off the atlantic seaboard closer to washington maybe with rain and wind here into the weekend and in the first part of next week. stay tuned. we'll be on it for you and let you know what's going on. 7:00 a.m., mostly cloudy, maybe a passing sprinkle, around 60 degrees. by the noon hour, quite a bit of cloudiness, but warmer, into the low and mid-70s. then a little sunshine ought to break out this afternoon. will climb to around 80 degrees

for a brief time. then thursday, partly cloudy to mostly sunny. low to mid-70s during the afternoon. cooler weather on friday and into the weekend. maybe a sprinkle friday. small chance of that. saturday a little sunshine in the morning clouding up in the afternoon. could get showers from sandy perhaps beginning saturday evening and off and on sunday, monday, tuesday. stay tuned. we'll keep you posted. danella, good morning. how's traffic trouble now. still tracking the situation along i-95 heading northbound. this is at centreport parkway. left lane is still blocked. all of your lanes are blocked. you're seeing a significant delay, and you're able to get by. you've got to stick to the right. at least a three-mile backup i-95 in stafford. let's head over to i-66. earlier delays eastbound. this is why. multivehicle crash now lined up, moved to the left shoulder lane. it was blocking two of your lanes. this is as you approach 28. as you're traveling on i-66 eastbound, you can expect at least a two-mile backup here.

let me show you what it looks like as you slowly make your way past the bypass and continue eastbound. aaron and eun, back over to you. >> thank you, danella. d.c. councilwoman mary cheh is planning to tweak a bill to bring driverless cars to the district. they held a hearing on legislation that would grant licenses to self-driving cars. the obama administration also supports the measure. yesterday it was announced it's launching an initiative to research the safety and reliability of driverless vehicles. google sent one of its prototypes around the district earlier this year. california, nevada, and florida have already allowed driverless cars on their streets. more bike lanes could soon be coming to the district, which is reigniting a long-term debate between drivers and cyclists. it would add bike lanes on "l" street northwest from 12th street to 25th street. this comes as a new ddot study shows 40% of cyclists are disobeying traffic signals with many running red lights. drivers are worried that cyclists won't ride in the bike

lanes and want police to crack down on dangerous bikers. >> bicyclists use this when they want to, but they weave in and out of traffic. they run down pedestrians. so if you actually enforce bicyclists to use bike lanes, it would be great. >> another potential problem for drivers, these new bike lanes on "l" street mean some of the parking spots along "l" street will have to go away. a new report shows just how much more students are paying for college this fall. instate tuition at public universities climbed about $400 this year. the college board calls that 5% increase modest compared to years past. on average tuition runs $8,600. room and board averages more than $17,000, and the college board says one-third of full-time students pay the published price. 5:55 right now. it's been rare since the company went public, but much needed good news could send facebook's stock price climbing this morning.

cnbc's shartia brantley joins us with that story and more. >> good morning, aaron. definitely keep an eye on facebook stock today. shares rose more than 14% in after hours trading last night on the back of the company's positive earnings report. facebook's revenue rose 32%, slightly better than analysts expected. the social networking giant may have figured out how to make money from people shifting from pcs to mobile devices like smartphones and tablets. facebook made $153 million from the sale of mobile ads, a category that didn't even exist for the company seven months ago. ceo mark zuckerberg says facebook could eventually make more money from mobile versus desktop ads. in other facebook related news, zynga is cutting 5% of its work force, the first ever round of layoffs for the struggling online game maker. the company will also retire 13 older games and reduce its investment in the game called

the ville. zynga will close its boston studio and could shut down studios in uk and japan. zynga makes 5 of the top 10 games featured on facebook. >> shartia brantley at cnbc, thank you. the baby panda at san diego zoo still doesn't have a name, but you can help change na. >> the names are miracle, gum drop, aaron's favorite, big ocean, blue sea, or water dragon. isn't he just so cute? he's healthy and growing. right now he weighs 7 pounds, 7 ounces. he's going to weigh a lot more very soon. the soon to be named cub is the sixth giant panda born at the san diego zoo. if you want to vote, log on to news 4's facebook page and go to the website. i'm going with water dragon. >> i'll stick with gum drop

until he's bigger. then he will be something bigger than a drop. >> parents, probably in your child's room right now, what doctors are telling you to take away.

commonwealth candidates. less than two weeks from